A system includes an apparatus and a processor. The apparatus includes a set of actuator elements that move between two positions. Each actuator element is comprised in: exactly one first subset out of a plurality of non-empty first subsets and exactly one second subset out of a plurality of non-empty second subsets. The processor is configured to generate one or more control commands for a group of subsets out of the first and the second pluralities of subsets in response to a number of moving elements which, if released from the first extreme position during a second sampling cycle, enables production by the apparatus during the second sampling cycle of a sound.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A system comprising: an apparatus which comprises a set of actuator elements, each comprising a moving element which moves between first and second extreme positions, wherein each actuator element of the set is comprised in: (a) exactly one first subset out of a plurality of non-empty first subsets (R-subsets) of the set of actuator elements; and (b) exactly one second subset out of a plurality of non-empty second subsets (C-subsets) of the set of actuator elements; wherein each of the actuator elements of said set of actuator elements is an electrostatic actuator element comprising the moving element which is operative to move between the first extreme position and the second extreme position which is farther from a first electrode of said actuator element than the first extreme position, wherein the actuator element is responsive to potentials applied to the first electrode and to the moving element based on control commands issued by the processor for the R-subset and the C-subset in which said moving element is comprised, a processor, configured to: determine a maximal number (Nltr) of moving elements which may be released from the first extreme position at a second sampling cycle in a first C-subset which comprises moving elements released from the first extreme position in a first sampling cycle, based on: a number of the moving elements of the first C-subset which were released from the first extreme position in the first sampling cycle; obtain a number (Ntbr) of moving elements which, if released from the first extreme position during the second sampling cycle, enables production by the apparatus during the second sampling cycle of a sound, at least one attribute of which corresponds to at least one characteristic of a digital input signal; and generate one or more control commands for a group of subsets out of the first and the second pluralities of subsets, in response to: (a) Nltr, (b) Ntbr, and (c) a first release-order indication, indicative of an order in which moving elements of the first C-subset are released from the first extreme position; wherein the group of subsets comprising the first C-subset, wherein if Ntbr is smaller than Nltr, control commands are generated for releasing from the first extreme position Ntbr moving elements of the first C-subset but not of any moving element of any other C-subset; and an interface for transferring the control commands to the apparatus, thereby resulting in movement of at least one moving element which is comprised in the first C-subset from the first extreme position.
2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the first sampling cycle is the last sampling cycle before the second sampling cycle in which any moving element of the apparatus was released from the first extreme position.
3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises a first plurality of electrical connections (R-wires) interconnecting the moving elements of actuator elements in each R-subset, such that the moving element of any actuator element in each individual R-subset is electrically connected to the moving elements of all other actuator elements in the individual R-subset, and electrically isolated from the moving elements of all actuator elements not in the individual R-subset; and a second plurality of electrical connections (A-wires) interconnecting the first electrodes of actuator elements in each C-subset, such that the first electrode of any actuator element in each individual C-subset is electrically connected to the first electrode of all other actuator elements in the individual C-subset, and electrically isolated from all actuator elements not in the individual C-subset; wherein electric potentials applied to each of the R-wires and to each of the A-wires in response to control commands issued by the processor result in movements of the moving elements which together produce an outcome sound, at least one attribute of which corresponds to at least one characteristic of a digital input signal.
4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein, if a first criterion which is based on relationships between Nltr and Ntbr is met, the subgroup of subsets to which the processor generates control commands comprises a second C-subset other than the first C-subset, wherein the interface is configured to transfer the control commands to the apparatus, thereby resulting in movement from the first extreme position of Nltr movable elements which are comprised in the first C-subset and of a number N(C2) of movable elements which are comprised in the second C-subset; wherein the processor is further configured to determine a second release-order indication, indicative of an order in which moving elements of the second C-subset are released from the first extreme position, wherein the second release-order indication is indicative of a different order than the order in which the moving elements of the first C-subset are released from the first extreme position.
5. The system according to claim 4 , wherein N(C2) is equal or greater than Nltr, wherein the processor is configured to generate the control commands comprising N(C2) movement-inducing control commands which are issued to N(C2) different C-subsets, thereby causing the number of movable elements moving from the first extreme position to be N(C2); wherein the processor is configured so that when issuing movement-inducing control commands at any sampling cycle to more than one C-subset, to issue movement-inducing control commands to a number of different R-subsets which is equal to or larger than a corresponding maximal number of moving elements which may be released from the first extreme position at the corresponding sampling cycle in a corresponding C-subset.
6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first and the second release-order indications comprises a binary value indicative of an order in which moving elements of a respective C-subset are released from the first extreme position.
7. The system according to claim 6 , further comprising a memory module configured to store permutational information indicative of an order in which moving elements of at least one of the plurality of C-subset are released from the first extreme position, wherein a control command issued by the processor for one of the at least one R-subsets is transferred to a corresponding R-subset which is selected based on the permutational information.
8. The system according to claim 7 , further comprising an order manager, which is configured to periodically generate swapping information indicative of at least one subgroup of swappable R-subsets such that for every individual C-subset of the plurality of C-subsets, all of the moving elements in each of that subgroup of R-subsets which are also included in the individual C-subset are in the same position, and if in movement moving in the same direction, and to periodically amend the permutational information based on the swapping information.
9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to refrain from generating movement-inducing commands to any C-subset other than the first C-subset if Ntbr is larger than Nltr, if a second criterion which is based on relationships between Nltr and Ntbr is met.
10. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the control commands in response to historical information indicative of movement of elements from at least one of the extreme positions in one or more sampling cycles preceding the second sampling cycle.
11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein a movement from the first extreme position to the second extreme position of each moving element of the set is completed within k sampling cycles, where k is a positive integer; wherein the processor is configured to apply a first set of decision criteria for generating the control commands if no moving element of the set moved from the first extreme position in the preceding k−1 sampling cycle, and to otherwise apply at least one other set of decision criteria.
12. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the processor is configured to generate control commands whose transfer to the apparatus results in movement from the first extreme position of moving elements in which are comprised in the first C-subset in a number Nc1 which is smaller than a number of moving elements in the first C-subset which are positioned in the first extreme position if Ntbr is larger than Nc1, if a third criterion which is based on the historical information is fulfilled.
13. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute, in each of a series of sampling cycles: obtain a number (Ntbr(m)) of moving elements which, if released from the first extreme position during an m'th sampling cycle, enables production by the apparatus during the m'th sampling cycle of a sound, at least one attribute of which corresponds to at least one characteristic of a digital input signal; and generate control commands for at least one subset of the set of movable elements, in response to Ntbr(m), to a number of the moving elements of a p'th C-subset which were released from the first extreme position in a respective preceding sampling cycle, and to a p'th release-order indication, indicative of an order in which moving elements of the p'th C-subset are released from the first extreme position at the m'th cycle.
14. The system according to claim 1 , wherein intersections of any individual one of said first subsets of actuator elements and any individual one of said second subsets of actuator elements all comprise a uniform number of actuator elements.
15. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor further comprise a defective actuator element counting module which is configured to process the one or more control commands and to determine a defective actuator elements error based on the control commands, wherein the apparatus suffers from defective elements noise resulting from malfunctioning actuator elements during one or more actuation clock cycles, the defective elements noise having a frequency spectrum, wherein the processor comprises a noise shaping loop operative to shape the frequency spectrum of the defective elements noise based on the defective actuator elements error such that defective elements noise energy is reduced within a frequency band of interest and increased outside said band of interest.
16. The system according to claim 1 , comprising an override module which is configured to obtain information pertaining to a functionality level of actuator elements of the apparatus and to selectively modify at least one of the control commands, thereby preventing a releasing of a latched defective moving element.
17. A method for controlling an apparatus which comprises a set of actuator elements, each comprising a moving element which moves between first and second extreme positions, wherein each actuator element of the set is comprised in: (a) exactly one first subset out of a plurality of non-empty first subsets (R-subsets) of the set of actuator elements; and (b) exactly one second subset out of a plurality of non-empty second subsets (C-subsets) of the set of actuator elements; wherein each of the actuator elements of said set of actuator elements is an electrostatic actuator element comprising the moving element which is operative to move between the first extreme position and the second extreme position which is farther from a first electrode of said actuator element than the first extreme position, wherein the actuator element is responsive to potentials applied to the first electrode and to the moving element based on control commands issued by the processor for the R-subset and the C-subset in which said moving element is comprised, the method comprising: determining, by a processor, a maximal number (Nltr) of moving elements which may be released from the first extreme position at a second sampling cycle in a first C-subset which comprises moving elements released from the first extreme position in a first sampling cycle, the determining based on a number of the moving elements of the first C-subset which were released from the first extreme position in the first sampling cycle; obtaining a number (Ntbr) of moving elements which, if released from the first extreme position during the second sampling cycle, enables production by the apparatus during the second sampling cycle of a sound, at least one attribute of which corresponds to at least one characteristic of a digital input signal, wherein if Ntbr is smaller than Nltr, control commands are generated for releasing from the first extreme position Ntbr moving elements of the first C-subset but not of any moving element of any other C-subset; generating one or more control commands for a group of subsets out of the first and the second pluralities of subsets in response to Nltr, Ntbr, and a first release-order indication, indicative of an order in which moving elements of the first C-subset are released from the first extreme position; wherein the group of subsets comprising the first C-subset; and transferring the control commands to the apparatus, thereby resulting in movement of at least one moving element which is comprised in the first C-subset from the first extreme position.
18. The method according to claim 17 , further comprising generating the sound at the second sampling cycle, resulting from movement of a group of moving elements which comprises the at least one moving element.
19. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the first sampling cycle is the last sampling cycle before the second sampling cycle in which any moving element of the apparatus was released from the first extreme position.
20. The method according to claims 17 , wherein the generating comprises generating, if a first criterion which is based on relationships between Nltr and Ntbr is met, a control command for a second C-subset other than the first C-subset, wherein transferring of generated control commands results in movement from the first extreme position of Nltr movable elements which are comprised in the first C-subset and of a number N(C2) of movable elements which are comprised in the second C-subset; wherein the method further comprises determining a second release-order indication, indicative of an order in which moving elements of the second C-subset are released from the first extreme position, wherein the second release-order indication is indicative of a different order than the order in which the moving elements of the first C-subset are released from the first extreme position.
21. The method according to claim 20 , wherein each of the first and the second release-order indications comprises a binary value indicative of an order in which moving elements of a respective C-subset are released from the first extreme position.
22. The method according to claim 21 , further comprising storing in a memory module permutational information indicative of an order in which moving elements of at least one of the plurality of C-subset are released from the first extreme position, wherein the transferring comprises transferring at least one of the generated control command to at least one corresponding R-subset which is selected based on the permutational information.
23. The method according to claim 22 , comprising periodically generating swapping information indicative of at least one subgroup of swappable R-subsets such that for every individual C-subset of the plurality of C-subsets, all of the moving elements in each of that subgroup of R-subsets which are also included in the individual C-subset are in the same position and if in movement moving in the same direction, and to periodically amending the permutational information based on the swapping information.
24. The method according to claim 20 , wherein N(C2) is equal or greater than Nltr, wherein the generating comprises generating control commands to the group of subsets which comprises N(C2) different C-subsets, thereby causing the number of movable elements moving from the first extreme position to be N(C2); wherein the generating is executed according to rules which require that if a group of induced-subsets to which movement-inducing control commands are generated at any sampling cycle comprises more than one C-subset, than it also comprises a number of different R-subsets which is equal to or larger than a corresponding maximal number of moving elements which may be released from the first extreme position at the corresponding sampling cycle in a corresponding C-subset.
25. The method according to claims 17 , wherein the generating is executed according to rules which prevent generating movement-inducing commands to any C-subset other than the first C-subset if Ntbr is larger than Nltr, if a second criterion which is based on relationships between Nltr and Ntbr is met.
26. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the generating is responsive to historical information indicative of movement of elements from at least one of the extreme positions in one or more sampling cycles preceding the second sampling cycle.
27. The method according to claim 26 , wherein a movement from the first extreme position to the second extreme position of each moving element of the set is completed within k sampling cycles, where k is a positive integer; wherein the generating comprises applying a first set of decision criteria for generating the control commands if no moving element of the set moved from the first extreme position in the preceding k−1 sampling cycle, and to otherwise applying at least one other set of decision criteria.
28. The method according to claim 26 , wherein the generating comprises generating control commands whose transfer to the apparatus results in movement from the first extreme position of moving elements in which are comprised in the first C-subset in a number Nc 1 which is smaller than a number of moving elements in the first C-subset which are positioned in the first extreme position if Ntbr is larger than Nc 1 , if a third criterion which is based on the historical information is fulfilled.
29. The method according to claim 17 , comprising executing in each of a series of sampling cycles: obtaining a number (Ntbr(m)) of moving elements which, if released from the first extreme position during an m'th sampling cycle, enables production by the apparatus during the m'th sampling cycle of a sound, at least one attribute of which corresponds to at least one characteristic of a digital input signal; and generating control commands for at least one subset of the set of movable elements, in response to Ntbr(m), to a number of the moving elements of a p'th C-subset which were released from the first extreme position in a respective preceding sampling cycle, and to a p'th release-order indication, indicative of an order in which moving elements of the p'th C-subset are released from the first extreme position at the m'th cycle.
30. The method according to claim 17 , wherein intersections of any individual one of said first subsets of actuator elements and any individual one of said second subsets of actuator elements all comprise a uniform number of actuator elements.
31. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method for controlling an apparatus which comprises a set of actuator elements, each comprising a moving element which moves between first and second extreme positions, wherein each actuator element of the set is comprised in: (a) exactly one first subset out of a plurality of non-empty first subsets (R-subsets) of the set of actuator elements; and (b) exactly one second subset out of a plurality of non-empty second subsets (C-subsets) of the set of actuator elements, wherein each of the actuator elements of said set of actuator elements is an electrostatic actuator element comprising the moving element which is operative to move between the first extreme position and the second extreme position which is farther from a first electrode of said actuator element than the first extreme position, wherein the actuator element is responsive to potentials applied to the first electrode and to the moving element based on control commands issued by the processor for the R-subset and the C-subset in which said moving element is comprised, the method comprising: determining a maximal number (Nltr) of moving elements which may be released from the first extreme position at a second sampling cycle in a first C-subset which comprises moving elements released from the first extreme position in a first sampling cycle, the determining based on a number of the moving elements of the first C-subset which were released from the first extreme position in the first sampling cycle; obtaining a number (Ntbr) of moving elements which, if released from the first extreme position during the second sampling cycle, enables production by the apparatus during the second sampling cycle of a sound, at least one attribute of which corresponds to at least one characteristic of a digital input signal, wherein if Ntbr is smaller than Nltr, control commands are generated for releasing from the first extreme position Ntbr moving elements of the first C-subset but not of any moving element of any other C-subset; generating one or more control commands for a group of subsets out of the first and the second pluralities of subsets in response to Nltr, Ntbr, and a first release-order indication, indicative of an order in which moving elements of the first C-subset are released from the first extreme position; wherein the group of subsets comprising the first C-subset; and transferring the control commands to the apparatus, thereby resulting in movement of at least one moving element which is comprised in the first C-subset from the first extreme position.
32. The program storage device according to claim 31 , further comprising instructions for generating the sound at the second sampling cycle, resulting from movement of a group of moving elements which comprises the at least one moving element.
33. The program storage device according to claim 31 , wherein the first sampling cycle is the last sampling cycle before the second sampling cycle in which any moving element of the apparatus was released from the first extreme position.
34. The program storage device according to claim 31 , wherein the generating comprises generating, if a first criterion which is based on relationships between Nltr and Ntbr is met, a control command for a second C-subset other than the first C-subset, wherein transferring of generated control commands results in movement from the first extreme position of Nltr movable elements which are comprised in the first C-subset and of a number N(C2) of movable elements which are comprised in the second C-subset; wherein the program storage device further comprises determining a second release-order indication, indicative of an order in which moving elements of the second C-subset are released from the first extreme position, wherein the second release-order indication is indicative of a different order than the order in which the moving elements of the first C-subset are released from the first extreme position.
35. The program storage device according to claim 34 , wherein each of the first and the second release-order indications comprises a binary value indicative of an order in which moving elements of a respective C-subset are released from the first extreme position.
36. The program storage device according to claim 35 , further comprising instructions for storing in a memory module permutational information indicative of an order in which moving elements of at least one of the plurality of C-subset are released from the first extreme position, wherein the transferring comprises transferring at least one of the generated control command to at least one corresponding R-subset which is selected based on the permutational information.
37. The program storage device according to claim 36 , comprising periodically generating swapping information indicative of at least one subgroup of swappable R-subsets such that for every individual C-subset of the plurality of C-subsets, all of the moving elements in each of that subgroup of R-subsets which are also included in the individual C-subset are in the same position and if in movement moving in the same direction, and to periodically amending the permutational information based on the swapping information.
38. The program storage device according to claim 34 , wherein N(C2) is equal or greater than Nltr, wherein the generating comprises generating control commands to the group of subsets which comprises N(C2) different C-subsets, thereby causing the number of movable elements moving from the first extreme position to be N(C2); wherein the generating is executed according to rules which require that if a group of induced-subsets to which movement-inducing control commands are generated at any sampling cycle comprises more than one C-subset, than it also comprises a number of different R-subsets which is equal to or larger than a corresponding maximal number of moving elements which may be released from the first extreme position at the corresponding sampling cycle in a corresponding C-subset.
39. The program storage device according to claim 34 , wherein the generating is executed according to rules which prevent generating movement-inducing commands to any C-subset other than the first C-subset if Ntbr is larger than Nltr, if a second criterion which is based on relationships between Nltr and Ntbr is met.
40. The program storage device according to claim 34 , wherein the generating is responsive to historical information indicative of movement of elements from at least one of the extreme positions in one or more sampling cycles preceding the second sampling cycle.
41. The program storage device according to claim 40 , wherein a movement from the first extreme position to the second extreme position of each moving element of the set is completed within k sampling cycles, where k is a positive integer; wherein the generating comprises applying a first set of decision criteria for generating the control commands if no moving element of the set moved from the first extreme position in the preceding k−1 sampling cycle, and to otherwise applying at least one other set of decision criteria.
42. The program storage device according to claim 40 , wherein the generating comprises generating control commands whose transfer to the apparatus results in movement from the first extreme position of moving elements in which are comprised in the first C-subset in a number Nc 1 which is smaller than a number of moving elements in the first C-subset which are positioned in the first extreme position if Ntbr is larger than Nc 1 , if a third criterion which is based on the historical information is fulfilled.
43. The program storage device according to claim 31 , comprising executing in each of a series of sampling cycles: obtaining a number (Ntbr(m)) of moving elements which, if released from the first extreme position during an m'th sampling cycle, enables production by the apparatus during the m'th sampling cycle of a sound, at least one attribute of which corresponds to at least one characteristic of a digital input signal; and generating control commands for at least one subset of the set of movable elements, in response to Ntbr(m), to a number of the moving elements of a p'th C-subset which were released from the first extreme position in a respective preceding sampling cycle, and to a p'th release-order indication, indicative of an order in which moving elements of the p'th C-subset are released from the first extreme position at the m'th cycle.
44. The program storage device according to claim 31 , wherein intersections of any individual one of said first subsets of actuator elements and any individual one of said second subsets of actuator elements all comprise a uniform number of actuator elements.
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May 23, 2013
June 26, 2018
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